take turns

phrase

variants also British take it in turns

: to do something one after another in regular succession in order to share the responsibility or opportunity of doing it : alternate

We take turns washing the dishes.

Almost immediately, Rick and Diane begin videotaping their classroom lessons, letting their students take turns with the cameras.

—Ann Bradley

Several youths were around the phone, taking it in turns to gossip and joke with the operator.

—Christopher Isherwood

Examples of take turns in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Others drape seal intestines over their fins or take turns tossing sea lion pelts into the air, Shields said. — Mindy Weisberger, CNN Money, 23 July 2026

Later, each Spanish player took turns holding the elusive World Cup trophy. — Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 19 July 2026

Then other students took turns slapping, pinching and punching the boy. — Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica, 15 July 2026

At Relay For Life, find community members taking turns walking a path or track lined with luminaria bags. — Hema Sivanandam, Mercury News, 13 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1613, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for take turns

• holofernes
• overturns
• subalterns
• adjourns
• concerns
• discerns
• downturns
• internes
• nocturnes
• returns
• sideburns
• churns